Entitled
by Genkai-chan
Summary: Pepper wasn't too sure why he had suggested they go away, why he was so weary about returning home. Tony wasn't sure she would say yes, but he was sure that if it was his last birthday, that it had to be spent with her. Takes place during Iron Man 2 R&R this may become a short story depending on reviews. Pepperony fluff expected as well as their classic banter. - finished -
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Part 1 of 3, depending how well people take to it. Takes place in the middle of Iron Man 2. No warnings.

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It was on the plane ride back from Monaco that the realization was really setting in for Tony Stark. He was dying and his world was slowly caving in. It was also when he realized that he missed having Pepper around. He had recently promoted her to CEO which pushed her out of his life, which would do her a great deal of good when he did finally die. Die. It was a really hard concept for Iron Man to swallow but it was true. His close calls with death were nothing compared to the evidence stamped on his chest like a black badge of honor. He was slowly dying and he wasn't sure what he could do about it. There was so much he had done and yet so much he still wanted to do.

He needed to tell her, she had to know. She was his successor after all.

He would leave his company and all other duties to Pepper Potts and he would be gone and maybe she would be better for it. She wouldn't have to deal with him or any of his hang ups. He would miss her the most but he couldn't tell her that. It was too hard and things would be too real. So when he got in their jet, he asked Natalie to take another ride back to sunny California so he and Pepper could have some time together. He let Pepper off to do whatever it was Peppers did when they almost died from an unruly psychopath attacked them. Meanwhile Tony attempted to navigate the working kitchen of the plane and make Pepper something to eat. And maybe when she was eating, he could try and get something off of his chest, out of his heart without her interrupting or making it worse.

Maybe with a mouthful of egg, she wouldn't break down when she knew the truth.

So Tony had made his omelet type thing and headed off to see Pepper. He held back and saw she watching the moronic Senator Stern talk about him. And though Pepper was sitting there and he couldn't see her face, he could feel the worry radiating from her. Muting it, he moved around and sat across from his overworked companion and presented her with the meal he had made. "Did you just make that?" Pepper asked, a small smile tugging at her lips. Tony never cooked, at least she assumed he didn't know how.

"Yeah, where do you think I've been for three hours?"

"Tony, what are you're not telling me?" She asked slowly, her eyes moving from the mushroom and spinach omelet to the man in front of her with all of his defenses down. At least most of the masks he wore the public were down. She could tell he was bothered by something, he was crying out for help but she couldn't really hear what she could do. There was a pause and he looked out the window, as if trying to figure it out.

"I don't wanna go home. At all." He looked to her. "Let's cancel my birthday party and…and uh we're in Europe, let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?"

"Oh yes."

"It's a great place to…to…to be healthy." He wasn't sure what he was saying, he was trying to tell Pepper that he wanted to get away from everyone and everything if it meant having her by his side. Why was it so difficult?

"I don't think this is the right time. We're in kind of a mess." Pepper said quietly. If something was eating at him, she wanted him to come out and say it. Despite knowing him for over ten years, she still had yet to master the manual for the internal working of Stark's mind. Tony looked to her, trying to connect a bit better.

"But maybe that's why it's the best time." He pointed out. "Cause then-"

"Well I think," She interrupted him and he wished she would just eat so he could talk and convince her to run away with him. "As the CEO I need to show up." Pepper said. He looked off again.

"As CEO you are entitled to a leave…" Tony told her, wishing she could be less of a workaholic, of all times.

"A leave?"

"A company retreat." He put it another way, trying to get something going. Anything.

"A retreat during a time like this?"

"We need to recharge our batteries and figure it all out." Well he did.

"Not everybody runs on batteries, Tony…" Pepper smiled sadly. Unlike him, she felt like there was a breaking point, she had limits and Tony was testing them. She looked down at her plate and picked it up and then looked back at him as he returned his quiet gaze outside the window and it was then she felt his cry reach the core of her heart and it vibrated throughout her entire body causing her to shiver slightly. Pepper smiled a bit more and reached out for his hand, "Thanks for the meal and…" She took a deep breath. "If you can make the arrangements, I'll go with you." She said.

As soon as the words reached his eyes, he perked up like a lonely dog finally reunited with its master. Tony looked to her and he smiled. It wasn't a normal smile which was plastered on his face when the cameras were on him, no, this was a genuine smile and it was just for the lovely lady in front of him. Pepper's smile grew as she squeezed and then released his hand and started to eat the mess Tony had made for her. It wasn't entirely edible but she ate what she could while Tony typed away on his laptop. Pepper assumed he was taking care of the plans, a duty she rarely put in his lap but he was so insistent on going that she was going to make him follow through with it because she had her own ends to tie up thanks to his stunt on the racetrack. And now he had begged her to escape with him to Venice.

So Tony ended up taking care of everything, the plane shifted route toward Italy and when they landed, all of their luggage had been whisked away. Tony had some of his and Pepper's things flown in and of course he had his suit which JARVIS had made some repairs on. For now he didn't want to worry and he didn't want Pepper to worry either. He slipped an arm around her which caught her by surprise. She looked to him to ask what he was doing and he just held up his hands saying, "Hey, I need to escort a lady, it makes me look bad if I don't." He told her and she just walked beside him, after about ten seconds he moved his arm around her again and managed to snatch the blackberry from her hand and gave her a look one might give a student who got in trouble for using it in class. "Not while we're here, Pep." He told her.

"Tony, I am a CEO-"

"I know you're a CEO, who do you think promoted you?"

"I need to do my job." Pepper glared.

"This is a company retreat, in which we won't work or do anything like that. We will do those weird trust exercises and stuff. Drink some wine and enjoy ourselves because you never know…if today is your last…day." He trailed off and cleared his throat as her eyes remained on his face. Removing his arm from her, he opened the car waiting for them to take them to their hotel.

"Tony, what are you not telling me?" She asked him again as they got into the smooth black car. The billionaire sighed and rested his hands on his lap, patting his legs for a moment, not sure if he wanted to tell her now. He had managed to pry the woman away from her busy life and the least he could do was have her enjoy a forced vacation and not ruin it with his death clock. "Tony." She said his name, snapping him from his thoughts.

"What? Oh hey would you like at that?" He pointed outside at the architecture as they were driving along. "It's so nice here…romantic, don't you think?"

"Yes, very." Pepper just said and sighed. "Why didn't you bring Natalie?" She found herself ask.

"Natalie? Oh no, this isn't a trip I want to take with her, just you." He shrugged.

"Really? Because I see the way you look at her-"

"There's something about her."

"Really?"

"I don't know. I can't really place my finger it, something isn't right about her, you know?"

"I know." Pepper raised a brow and folded her arms. Tony noticed her mood changing from warm to cold and he scooted over to the redhead.

"Hey, no, we're not here to talk about her or anything-"

"Work related?" She finished for him, still a bit annoyed. Pepper knew Tony, he wasn't telling her something and by the sounds of it, it was pretty important. Pretty big. "What's going on with you? Why did you want me to come here with you?" Pepper turned to him and unfolded her arms. "I think as CEO," She corrected herself. "As your friend, I'm entitled to know what's going on so I can help you. I want to help but you have to tell me what's going on." Pepper pleaded. It seemed the two of them were reaching out but at different times. Tony bit his lower lip and the car suddenly stopped and they were now at the hotel, a nice private and very expensive property that overlooked the spectacular view. The door opened on Pepper's side so she could get out but instead she just sat there and stared at Tony, waiting for something.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Oh thanks so much guys! I loved the encouragement which is why I stayed up all night working on this, so hopefully this lives up all of your expectations. Talk about pressure! I am not sure if my next installment should be the last one or not, so hopefully I'm heading in the right direction. Again, love and comments help and go a long way. This one is probably twice as long as the last one, so grab yo popcorn!

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Wedding bells could be heard in the background. A nearby chapel seemed to be finishing up a wedding late in the day as Pepper just fixated her gaze at her troubled boss. "Tony, what's going?" How much could she push before she got tired and gave up? Tony looked off and debated back and forth the pros and cons about telling her or keeping it to himself. The driver stood outside in the warm sun which was slowly dipping down the horizon as she just sat there, not moving until she got the answer she wanted. No, needed. "We're here in Italy, why can't you just tell me what's going on?" She pleaded. He was talking about life more than usual and it wasn't like him. In fact, it was something he never really worried about. Tony often strutted around his mansion like he was immortal. What was going on inside of his head?

Finally it was decided.

"Not now." Tony said quietly. "I can't tell you now, but I promise I will." Tony told her. He wanted them to enjoy their time in paradise and not let it become eclipsed by the daunting and unavoidable end of his life. Pepper couldn't be burdened like him, he wouldn't let her suffer like he was. And so Pepper just turned and got out of the car as Tony opened his own door and walked around to meet Pepper at the foot of the hotel. He put an arm around her and escorted her up the stone steps and they entered an air conditioned lobby with fountains and statues and paintings, all lovely in taste and historic of course. While Pepper eyed the decor, Tony moved up to the front desk and got the two room keys for Pepper and himself. He and the lady then walked over to the glass escalator and went up to the third floor.

Once there, they stepped outside and were on a large stone level with bushes, trees with seats around, overlooking the ocean. He walked over to the left and up a few levels, all of which were suspended over the high cliffs. They reached a large private bungalow and headed inside. The resort specialized in private suites which were spread out around the cliff-side and used both interior and exterior spaces around to create a comforting yet luxurious living space for the private wealthy guests. Tony closed the glass door behind them and locked it. The personal suite had a sitting room, kitchen, dining room, two rooms and two bathrooms, as well as a private hot-tub outside on their personal stone deck. Pepper glanced to Tony, wanting to make some joke about how it felt like they were on a honeymoon but no words really formed so she just walked around with him.

Their things were already put in their rooms and Tony moved into the kitchen and poured them a glass of champagne. "To us." He handed her a glass and they took a sip. He turned and leaned on the counter to see the sun finally dip down over the glassy ocean down below them. He glanced to Pepper who still didn't looked relaxed at all, that would have to change. "Why don't we go out and get something to eat and tomorrow spend the morning at a spa?"

"What? You're not going to try cooking again?" Pepper asked him.

"You didn't like what I made?"

"I liked it...I just like other things better." She smiled to him. "Alright, let's change and go out." For now, she would do her best to go along with the whims of Tony Stark. He said he would tell her and she knew he would do it in his own time, but he could be so slow about some things that it made her wonder if he would just wait until the last possible minute. But Pepper stopped herself from over-thinking things because it would only do her more harm than good. Tony nodded and headed off to his own room and changed into a nice suit and found himself debating on a tie. Pepper knocked on his door after ten minutes. Now if a woman was waiting on him, he knew he was running late. "Tony? Is your zipper stuck or something?" Usually she picked out his clothes, so it was also possible he just wasn't sure what to wear. He opened the door and held out two ties.

"Which? I feel as my date tonight," He paused and looked at Pepper expecting her to give him a look of disapproval but it was just softened thus not as intense as usual. "I feel as if she should pick what I wear if she has to be looking at it for extended periods of time before it's pulled off me in a lust-filled drunken haze." He explained, breaking back into his cocky sort of mask which Pepper had become quite immune to over the years. She rolled her eyes, her softness hardening once more as she took the two ties in her hand. One was a solid red which matched the tone of his latest Iron Man suit, the other was a deep blue with more shiny diagonal stripes running through it.

"Here." She set the red one down and just started to put on Tony's blue tie for him. "It goes better with my eyes." Pepper smiled as she finished the tie and tightened it slightly, as if were a master hitting their dog on the head with a newspaper for being naughty. "And if anyone's pulling your tie off in a lust-filled drunken haze, it would be yourself." Pepper retorted and stepped back. And then Tony immediately knew he shouldn't have made the joke because it almost looked like he was making some leeway with her and he just blew it. She knew him better than anyone else and yet he sometimes felt the need to put up a wall even around her, after all this time. "Come on." She just said and headed out the door to grab her purse. The lovely CEO had on the same blue dress she had gotten herself for her birthday. Well technically Tony had gotten it for her but she liked to think of it as a duel-present since she picked it out and he paid for it. It seemed when Tony had her luggage packed, he must have specifically asked for it.

Was it the slim fit? The color? Or was it that he bought it for her and he felt a little more confident when Pepper was wearing something he bought her. Like she was with him, like he could buy her the world if she wanted it. Tony snapped out of his distracted male thoughts and followed Pepper outside into the warm air and they went down to the elevator. As they reached the lobby, Tony was now wondering what to say. He didn't want to be joking around, but he didn't want to be too serious either. In the end, surely it would pay off to be more serious than not. Shaking his head, they got back into the car which headed off toward Fiaschetteria Toscana which was a well known place to eat at. He had been there once before and hoped Pepper would enjoy it. On the drive over, he glanced over to Pepper, "You do look nice tonight." He offered to her. She looked over at him and stared, while Tony tried to see if she was still upset with him.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." She replied and looked back out the window. Just great, one or two sexual jokes and he was in the doghouse and back to Mr. Stark. How could Tony turn the setback into something useable? Of course anymore advances would have to be done carefully. Clearly the hero was on thin ice already. This was a vacation, or rather a company retreat. He wanted her to enjoy herself but his company as well. He for one, wanted to enjoy her company. It was very precious to him. He restrained himself from closing the gap between them and making a comment about him being the boss and her needing to be nice to him but he didn't do such a thing. They arrived soon enough and headed inside. Tony was greeted with a warm welcome and the pair was shown to a table.

The two talked about tomorrow's plans and the city they were in. Tony was determined to spoil the woman until her mouth was filled with cavities. He wanted her to be relaxed, he had put so much stress on her but even more now than usual. He knew he was being selfish but he was also scared, he didn't know what to do. It was a rare moment of vulnerability for him. Why was it so hard to just tell the one person in his life who he trusted the most? Why couldn't he tell her his problem? He knew she'd want to fix it, do something, fuss over him. Pepper was like that, he couldn't change it. And she would want to go into full on 'worry mode' and demand he take it easy while she tried to change it, do something. But the truth was, she had done so much already.

Too much.

He had always asked too much of her and he was sorry and he felt like he was scrambling in the last second to make it all up to her. "Pep, I want this to be a great time for us." He told her after their wine had been picked and poured for them. Pepper looked into his eyes, seeing the swirling emotions that threatened to drown him where he sat. "So I'll try and behave." He held up a hand of surrender. "I just want..." What did he want? He didn't want to die. He wanted to live and keep Pepper and everyone else safe. Why couldn't have he turned his life around sooner? She swallowed and felt how hard this was for him, whatever it was. She reached for his hand again.

Instead of begging to be let inside again, she just opted to stay outside the door of his heart and wait until he decided to open it up to her. "We'll have a great time." Pepper found herself reassuring the man. "And you'll forget about what's bothering you and...and maybe we'll never go back to work." She smiled lightly, trying to steer the conversation back toward gentle waters. "Just stay here, grow old...get drunk by the ocean and collect sea shells." By her last joke, Tony knew she was just trying to make him feel better so he decided to play along because to be honest, it sounded pretty good to him. "I'll get Tony Stark all to myself again." Pepper found herself chuckle and lace their fingers together. The blue in Pepper's eyes seem to shine a bit more than usual, Tony observed. And her laughter was very cute, not to mention her idea of hoarding him away like a treasure made him feel even more good about himself.

"Oh?" Yet it also brought the idea to light, that since he became Iron Man and told the world, that Pepper and Tony's relationship of sorts had taken a bit of a backseat. Before when she was just his PA and dealing with a more simple yet secretly diabolical Stark Industries, they were close and charming. And yet a lot of distance had been put between them and more work now demanded their individual attention. Not to mention with a new girl in the picture, he wondered if Pepper felt her place was becoming trivial or something. Like they were losing one another. He had to practice more restraint and not make a dirty comment. Instead the man stayed silent, trying to be more careful with his wording. He couldn't reset the progress he had just made again. "I suppose we are seeing less and less of each other these days. I admit I miss you nagging me, it's not the same when she does it." He smiled, his tone more light, trying to show he was joking but also serious. And he also was careful not to mention Natalie's name. Pepper smiled a little and their orders came and she paused before she dug in to say,

"If it helps I could pop over a bit more often." Pepper said as she took a bite of her fish.

"I'd like that, Ms. Potts." Tony smiled to her and started to eat as well. From then on, the night continued to roll by rather smoothly. Pepper and Tony ate their meals and drank about two glasses of wine between them and ended the night with a light chocolate souffle which was very rich and very good. The two were driven back toward the hotel and this time, the space between them had diminished. Pepper had her head resting back against the seat while Tony had his arm around her waist. Her head turned to look at him as they drove along and Tony couldn't resist reaching over to pull the classic move. He tucked a stray strawberry strand of her hair behind her ear and she smiled at him. "Did I tell you how stunning you look tonight?" He asked her.

"You might have mentioned it." Pepper replied.

"No reason why I shouldn't mention it again." Tony grinned. The two arrived back at their hotel and got back up to their suite without any drunken detours. Neither were drunk of course, but they were tipsy enough to take their time getting up to said suite. Pepper went into her room and tossed her purse on the bed and sat down on the edge and ran her fingers through her hair. As she considering changing and going to bed, she heard Tony in his room. It sounded as if he had fallen or something. He couldn't be that out of it could he? For someone who drank so much, he could handle his alcohol. So what was up? Pepper got up and headed into his room to see Tony in his own bathroom staring at himself in the mirror, his back was to her and his shirt was open. You could see his bare chest, his arc reactor along with a strange purple sort of array of lines imprinted on his skin. Was she seeing things? Pepper blinked a few times and quickly went back into her room and shut the door, wondering if Tony's secret related to the thing she saw or if she had just had a glass too much of wine. "Night Pep." She heard Tony call as she removed her heels.

"Yeah...night!" She replied and just hoped a night's sleep would just sort everything out. Maybe she had been seeing things, after all, it was dim lighting. Maybe somewhere inside of her, she knew she saw something and knew how bad it was and didn't want to admit it to herself. Not bothering to get herself out of her dress, she just laid back and willed herself to sleep while Tony undressed and got into bed himself, trying not to focus on his blood toxicity levels and just think of Pepper. He had a lot of specialized drinks made for him so he could just drink those and tell Pepper they were for his health. In a way it wouldn't be a lie. She would assume it was some wacky wheat-grass thing when really it was trying to put off his death. When morning came, Tony considered how well the night before had gone, that he was back on pretty good terms with Pepper and decided to run with his luck and see how far it would take him. He called up for a nice breakfast and got dressed. Then he moved into the living room.

When would he tell her?

Could he?

Yes, and he had it.

If Pepper was in trouble, he would want to know.

While he was going back over the possible conversations, Pepper came out in a casual pair of jeans and a black tank top with her hair down, as it had been the night before. She sat next to him on the couch and looked at him. "Sleep well?" She asked him. For now, she had forgotten about the weird imprint she had seen and was looking forward to their day together.

"I did, I hope you did too." He replied. "I have ordered us breakfast and we have a date at the spa in an hour. And then we can go out for lunch and I'm also prepared to buy you half of the city, if you so desire." Tony smiled to her. Pepper looked at him, rather surprised he had taken the initiative to do everything. Usually she made the plans but Tony was happy to assume the male role for now, so she would try and let him. So far, so good right? "Clothes work a bit better than land mass though, I think."

"Sounds wonderful, Tony." Pepper replied, unable to ignore a certain kind of warmth surge inside of her. The two headed outside to a table and chairs by the hot-tub and their food soon arrived and was served to them. When they were left alone, Pepper enjoyed her coffee with Tony and enjoyed the sunny flawless view spread out before them. "It's such a nice day." She hummed. "I would like to go dancing tonight, if I can make a request."

"Dancing? I thought you didn't want to dance with your boss?"

"You don't want to dance? That's fine." She quickly said, surprised by his comment, even if it was a bit a jest.

"No, I do...I just didn't think you wanted to, last time I checked."

"I asked, surely it means I want to. That other time I just...I just wasn't expecting it." She said and looked off. It seemed Tony's little joke had once again caused some unwanted and unintended friction. He should have just agreed instead of joked around. Maybe it was because he used a label such as boss and it put her on edge. Didn't he say there would be no mention of work or work related things? "Nevermind." Pepper waved a hand and Tony found himself frown.

"No, no, I want to dance with you." How could he salvage this? "I was kidding, I'm not your boss right now, I'm just Tony and Tony would like to dance with Pepper, very much." He pleaded. He couldn't stand messing up yet again. Pepper just put her defenses up, getting the wrong impression and shook her head.

"I think our car is here to take us out." She just said and headed back inside. Tony groaned and inwardly face palmed and just followed her out. He should have just agreed and made a joke later. Why couldn't he do anything right around Pepper later? Usually it was easy to joke around with her but now things were tricky. The genius had to jog to catch up with her while grabbing a bottle filled with a green liquid on his way out. They headed down to the car and headed off, once again having to ride in an awkward silence. The massage at the spa would hopefully mend the tension or alleviate it. An hour or so later, they were reunited with one another and ready for a light lunch. Pepper seemed a bit less grouchy but Tony wasn't counting on being out of the doghouse just yet.

She was entitled to be upset with him, surely she was never without a loss to be upset with him. Tony just wanted to make things better, make her less bothered. Lunch went by smoothly and Pepper declined to shopping. Surprisingly it was one of the things Tony wanted to do for her. It was the easiest way for the billionaire to show someone he cared, by buying them tons of things. Pepper wasn't easily bought it seemed. They just went back to the hotel for the rest of the day while Tony plotted a way to get her back to laughing again. As the sun began to set a light music flowed through the air of the outside balcony. Tony had a soft jazz song playing in the background and he also had some chilled white wine poured for two, along with some cheese and fruit, among other finger foods. Tony had on his nice suit, along with the tie from last night and knocked on Pepper's closed door.

Hopefully she wasn't working.

"Pep?" Tony called and she opened the door after about twenty seconds of anticipation. She had on her same casual wear but instead her hair was pulled up into a pony tail. She still looked so beautiful to him. Tony held out his hand to her, "Care to dance?" He smirked a little and dipped his head slightly.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Last installment of this. I kind of had to rush it because of that. I didn't really feel I got as much feedback as I thought I would, and compared to the first chapter...so whatever. I hope the conclusion is alright. I brought this back into the movie's timeline and hopefully made it better than what was given to us. Expect more Pepperony from me in the future. I just needed to finish this. Thanks for all those who have read and reviewed.

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Like the last time he asked her to dance, this was unexpected but this time she said yes and meant it. Pepper took the hand offered to her and smiled. "Yes, I would care to dance." She said softly as Tony gently guided her across the living room outside to the stone balcony which was spacious and gave the pair a lovely view. Tony moved them outside and handed her a glass of wine. "You did all this for me?" Pepper looked around and saw the iPod hooked up, playing the music. Tony moved an arm around her waist and tapped his glass with her own.

"I did, I'm glad you wanted to come." He smiled to her and avoided her eyes for a moment. Even then, during the lovely moment, the man couldn't help but remember he was dying. He was dying and trying to spend every last moment with Pepper, his only fabricated sense of salvation. "Listen Pep, I need to tell you something." He said and set his drink down and put both hands on her hips and then moved them to her shoulders, finding them more appropriate there than someplace too intimate. He looked into her eyes and licked his lips. "I'm…I'm dying, Pepper."

"That's not funny, Tony." Pepper laughed awkwardly and tried to move away from him.

"I know…it's the truth." He said, heart already aching.

"What?"

"My body is slowly being poisoned and it's getting worse each day. How, isn't important. I just can't figure out a way-" He tried to explain, but also tried to avoid the mess of details as best he could but was instead cut off by a cry from Pepper. She dropped her glass and put a hand to her mouth, seeing how sincere he was. He was dying and wanted to get away. This explained everything. "Pepper." He took them away from the broken glass and held onto her tighter. "Pepper, listen to me…everything is going to be okay." How could he lie to her? He had been doing so well. Tony breathed in and saw Pepper was still trying to process the bad news. Bad, was putting it lightly though.

"You'll…you'll be okay Tony. We'll be okay." Pepper said, her voice trying to remain strong and firm, but it shook with so much uncertainty. He was dying. Suddenly she pulled him into a big hug, arms holding him close to her. "Oh Tony." Pepper cried softly and he put his arms around her body, the two holding each other, not daring to let go now. While the pair let the romantic setting marinate around them, they pulled away and Pepper brushed her hand along the side of his face. "I'm so happy…" Before Tony could ask why, she continued. "You told me, I wanted to know. I want to know and I want to be with you. We'll figure this out." Pepper said and found herself leaning closer and closer to him.

And Tony smiled softly, at the only woman he could ever love, ever let love him. "I'm nothing without you and I just wish I could show you how much you mean to me cause God knows I've lived a damned life…and put you through Hell while I was trying not to live at all. And I'm sorry." Tony moved a hand to grip his hair in frustration. All of this was coming out, he wasn't sure how but he knew he couldn't stop it. He had stored up so many emotions, she deserved to know how he felt. Maybe it would all be worth it. "I just…I just wanted my last birthday to be with you…no one else."

"This won't be your last birthday, Tony." Pepper said and pressed her lips against his. "I promise we'll figure something out." She pulled away and looked off at the mess she made. Tony closed his eyes for a moment, if only trying to remember the warmth that had just left him. The rest of the night was spent outside, Tony and Pepper sat together, feeding each other and drinking until the sun came back up to start a new day. When morning did come, they resigned to their rooms to get some sleep but about an hour into their rest, Tony crept into Pepper's room and curled up with her. A few hours passed and the two woke up to eat lunch and go shopping and just wander around.

The sunny days passed as if they had nothing to worry about. All while taking in the foreign sights, Pepper and Tony kept their hands laced together and never left the other's side for too long. And over time, Pepper stopped checking her phone so frequently and started to enjoy her escape with Tony. Though to an outsider they may appear to be a couple, neither had dared mention it. There were kisses shared and sweet nothings whispered in each others ears, as well as the witty banter which wasn't as sharp tongued as usual. But still…Pepper and Tony seemed happy and not brave enough to boldly the answer the question they needed to ask. Finally the pair decided it was time to go back to their lives, it seemed Fury needed to talk to him anyway. So they decided to go back a day after Tony's birthday.

The male awoke the day of his birthday feeling relaxed and refreshed. He looked to Pepper who was curled up against him. He stroked her hair which made her wake up and greet the morning with him. Did he not want to be alone at all? She smiled and sleepily kissed him and then his arc reactor. Even though she had now seen him shirtless to see his stained tainted skin, her eyes still lingered, trying not to well up with worried tears. No. Pepper wouldn't cry, things would be okay. "Happy Birthday Mr. Stark." Pepper whispered and sat up and looked out the window of her bedroom. "It's a nice day…"

"I'd rather stay in with you." Tony muttered and pulled her back down to his body.

"I'd rather go out with you." She chuckled and fell into his arms and found his lips making their way from her neck to her shoulders, exposed thanks to the tank top slipping off her shoulders. "Hey Tony…come on, if we don't get out of bed now, we never will and we have plans today." This made Tony whine, of course he would rather stay in bed with the lovely Potts and skip the plans but he knew he would want to go out on his birthday, he could stay in any day. And he planned to even when he got back home. Finally he released her but not without a kiss placed on her lips. The pair got dressed and headed out, ready to spend their last day in paradise together. Pepper and Tony enjoyed a wonderful day together and ended up taking several pictures.

And it seemed like they were like any normal couple, perhaps on their honeymoon. And when night fell across the vast sky of Venice, the two were just leaving a restaurant and heading back to their resort villa. But first Tony stopped Pepper outside their car and dug something out of his pocket. It was a long box, containing a sapphire necklace with as many stones as she had been with him. "Ever tear for every year. I couldn't be where I am today, without you." Tony told her softly and put it around her neck. "This whole…thing has made me finally see what's important and you're it." Tony said to her, staring into her eyes. "You've had to put up with so much-"

"I'll gladly put up with everything for as long as you want." Pepper said and kissed him. The next day the two of them took the long plane right back to the west coast. Pepper went back to work but this time she had a bigger smile on her lips as she started to get along with Natalie and kept the company afloat. Meanwhile Tony headed off to see what Nick Fury wanted and the hero and his lovely girl decided to put things on hold until things were back on track. Till Tony and Pepper could figure out a solution. And soon enough he did and he and Pepper celebrated together the night before Stark Expo, not knowing the chaos that was about to consume the entire area. And when Tony did swoop in and save Pepper, she had her necklace around her neck, and Tony knew they'd be alright.

He wouldn't let her go, he'd only let her get closer.

Because they were both entitled to be happy, not just in general, but together.


End file.
